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The Community licence is necessary if an operator wants to engage in the national or international carriage of goods for a charge using a motor vehicle or road train which is owned or used under a usage contract by the operator and which has a laden mass of more than 3500 kilograms.
The international carriage of goods specified in Article 1(5) of Regulation (EC) No 1072/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council as well as the following national transport operations may be organised without a licence:

carriage of snow and ice in conjunction with snow-clearing or de-icing;

carriage of agricultural products, firewood or wood chips by an agricultural producer to a buyer or processor within a radius of 75 kilometres from the place of business of the agricultural producer;

carriage of the deceased;

carriage of waste, effluent, wastewater and garbage;

carriage of concrete or other construction mixtures by a mixer truck;

carriage of mail in the course of the provision of postal service;

carriage of vehicles which have suffered damage or breakdown;

carriage of medicinal products, appliances, equipment and other articles required for medical care in emergency situations, particularly during natural disasters;

carriage by a road train that consists of an M1 category vehicle and an O1 or O2 category trailer, whereby the laden mass of the trailer does not exceed 3,500 kilograms;

carriage by a road train that consists of a special-purpose motor vehicle that is not designated for the carriage of goods, and an O1 or O2 category trailer;

carriage of vehicles, animals and equipment designated for the organisation of sports events or for competing by a motor vehicle or a road train the laden mass of which does not exceed 6,000 kilograms.

The Community licence is issued for ten years, if the applicant does not require it for a shorter period.

Based on the public law contract concluded with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, the Community licence shall be issued by the Association of Estonian International Road Carriers (ERAA).

Legal bases

Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing common rules concerning the conditions to be complied with to pursue the occupation of road transport operator and repealing Council Directive 96/26/EC (Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009);

Regulation (EC) No 1072/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council on common rules for access to the international road haulage market (Regulation (EC) No 1072/2009).

Requirements for the applicant

To receive a Community licence, the operator has to comply with the following requirements:

The operator must be registered in the commercial register or in the register of non-profit associations and foundations. (subsection 5 (8) of the Road Transport Act).

The operator must comply with the requirements of good repute (subsections 5 (5), (6) and (7) of the Road Transport Act; and Art 6 of Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009).

The operator must designate at least one transport manager who has a good repute and is professionally competent (subsection 5 (2) and subsections 7 (1), (2) and (3) of the Road Transport Act; and Art 4, 6, and 8 of Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009).

The operator must communicate the address of their establishment in Estonia, where their main business documents are kept (unless the address overlaps with the carrier’s address in the commercial register or in the register of non-profit associations and foundations) (subsection 5 (9) of the Road Transport Act; and Art 5 a) of Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009).

Within six months after a Community licence is granted, the carrier must have at its disposal at least one vehicle for which a certified true copy of a Community licence has been granted to the operator (subsection 5 (10) of the Road Transport Act; and Art 5 b) of Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009).

The operator must verify in the licence application that it has the appropriate technical equipment and facilities to conduct the transport operations (Art 5 c) of Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009).

The operator shall not have tax arrears for which no payment schedule has been arranged and it has not been declared bankrupt (clause 16 (1) 1) of the Road Transport Act).

The operator may not be subject to an occupational ban, a prohibition on enterprise, or a prohibition on business imposed by a judicial decision (clause 16 (1) 4) of the Road Transport Act)

The licence applicant must pay a fee to the ERAA for the issuance of a Community licence (subsection 14 (2) of the Road Transport Act).

Cross-border operation

If an operator that has been established abroad wants to organise the carriage of goods for a charge in Estonia (unless they are cabotage operations specified in Art 8 of Regulation (EC) No 1072/2009), it has to establish an undertaking in Estonia and apply for a Community licence.

An operator that has been established and to which a Community licence has been issued in another member state of the European Union or European Economic Area, is permitted to engage in the international carriage of goods into or from Estonia on the basis of the Community licence. If an operator that has been established and to which a Community licence has been issued in another member state of the European Union or European Economic Area wants to engage in the carriage of goods between Estonia and a third country, it must fulfill the requirements of an international agreement, e.g., apply for a transport permit for transportation into/from a third country (§ 21 of the Road Transport Act). To engage in cabotage operations in Estonia, an operator that has been established in another member state of the European Union or European Economic Area must fulfill the requirements for cabotage established in Articles 8 and 9 of Regulation (EC) No 1072/2009.

An operator that has been established and to which a Community licence has been issued in Estonia (hereinafter Estonian carrier) may also organise the carriage of goods internationally, in addition to the carriage of goods in Estonia, on the basis of the Community licence. To engage in cabotage operations in another member state of the European Union or European Economic Area, the Estonian carrier must fulfil the requirements for cabotage established in Articles 8 and 9 of Regulation (EC) No 1072/2009.

If an Estonian carrier wants to engage in the carriage of goods into/from a third country, it must fulfill the requirements of an international agreement concluded between Estonia and the third country, e.g., apply for a transport permit for transportation into/from a third country (§ 21 of the Road Transport Act). As a rule, cabotage operations in a third country are prohibited for Estonian carriers.

Submitting the application

The following documents need to be submitted to obtain a Community licence:

A document certifying the professional competence of the transport manager.

If, in accordance with Article 4 (1) of Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009 the person has been designated as the transport manager on the basis of an employment contract or, in accordance with Article 4 (2) of the same Regulation, on the basis of another contractual relationship, the document which certifies the designation of the transport manager must bear or be accompanied by particulars on the type, parties, date of conclusion and term of validity of the concluded contract.

sent by mail to the address of the ERAA at Narva mnt 91, 10127 Tallinn;

sent by fax to the number +372 6 062 041.

The Community licence can be obtained from ERAA Tallinn offices or from another ERAA office suitable to the applicant during work days from 09:00 to 13:00 and 14:00 to 17:00. The Community licence can be sent to the operator via mail if the applicant prefers so.

Payment of the state fee

In order to apply for a Community licence, a fee of 252 euros (210 euros + VAT) shall be paid. The fee can be paid in cash on the spot, with a debit card or in advance by bank transfer.

Processing the application

The processing of an application shall take up to 56 calendar days. The operator shall be notified of the issuance of a Community licence via a non-priority letter or via email.

The Community licence shall be issued on paper to a legal representative of the applicant or to a person authorised by a legal representative.

If the application contains any deficiencies, the applicant will be given a time limit for the elimination of the deficiencies. During the time limit for the elimination of the deficiencies, the term for the processing of the application will be suspended.

A Community licence is issued for 10 years, unless the applicant requires it for a shorter period. At the end of the duration of a Community licence a new Community licence can be applied for if all the requirements imposed upon the applicant are met. The application for obtaining a new Community licence shall be submitted at least 30 days before the end of the duration of the existing Community licence.

Changing the data of an activity licence

If there have been any changes in the data contained in the documents submitted for applying for a Community licence (e.g., when the transport manager changes, any changes in the contact information), then these need to be communicated in writing to the issuer of the Community licence within 28 days.

Should any data entered on a Community licence change (for example, the name or address of the enterprise), a new Community licence needs to be applied for.

Suspension of a licence and termination of economic activities

If an operator wishes to suspend the validity of or revoke a Community licence for a certain period, they need to submit a written application to the issuer of the Community licence.

Revocation of the activity licence

A Community licence shall be revoked in the following cases:

Upon the operator’s own application.

If the holder of the Community licence has not eliminated the deficiencies within the prescribed time limit in accordance with a precept and the holder of the Community licence does not fulfil one effective requirement or several of the effective requirements that served as the basis for the issue of the Community licence.

If the holder of the Community licence has knowingly submitted false information upon applying for the Community licence or forged documents that influenced the granting of the Community license and if those would not have been submitted, the issuer should have had to refuse to issue the Community licence.

If the holder of the Community licence has been deleted from the commercial register, a compulsory dissolution decision has been made regarding the holder of the Community licence, a prohibition on business or enterprise has been imposed on the holder of the Community licence, or the activities of the holder of the Community licence in the field of activity specified in the license are prohibited by a court judgement.

If the holder of the Community licence or its transport manager has been convicted of a serious offence specified in Article 6(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 1071/2009 and the time limit for the deletion of the date of conviction specified in § 24 of the Register of Convictions Act has not passed from the enforcement of the judgment made thereon and due to which the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications has made a proposal to revoke the licence.

If the holder of the Community licence, its transport manager or a driver working for the holder has, upon organisation of transport operations, been convicted of a violation of the requirements indicated in a special permit in accordance with subsection 35 (2) of the Roads Act upon transporting large or heavy cargo or of carrying out such transport operations without a special permit and whereby the conviction data has not been deleted from the register of convictions in accordance with the Register of Convictions Act.

If the holder of the Community licence or its transport manager has been convicted under § 279 of the Penal Code of obstructing state supervision over the compliance with the requirements of the working, driving and rest time of drivers and whereby the data of conviction has not been deleted from the register of convictions in accordance with the Register of Convictions Act and, in spite of a request for explanation sent by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, they do not allow for exercising supervision due to which the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications has made a proposal to revoke the Community licence.

Supervision

Supervision over whether the holder of a Community licence corresponds to the requirements imposed on them during the validity period of the document is exercised by the ERAA and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications.

Supervision over the existence of a Community licence on the roads is exercised by the Police and Border Guard Board.